Five unanswered goals lift Gophers over Spartans as freshman backup goaltender Nick Lehr picks up first career win in first start, read Thursday night's game story.
Nick Lehr proved to be a sufficient backup option for Adam Wilcox in Thursday night's 5-3 comeback victory over Michigan State, but the Gophers likely won't have to endure back-to-back nights without their standout goaltender.
Gophers coach Don Lucia said it's probable Wilcox would play on Friday night, though it will be up to his goalie after Wilcox gets a sense of how he's feeling in the pregame skate.
Wilcox warmed up with Gophers before Thursday night's game and looked healthy walking around outside of the locker room after the game. Lucia said Wilcox was banged up late in last Saturday's game at Penn State. Though minor, the lower-body injury wasn't worth testing with the quick turnaround on a short week result of the Thursday-Friday schedule.
"Adam is kind of day-to-day," Lucia said. "I thought he might be able to play one game this weekend and if we were going to play him one game, it was going to be [Friday]. So we'll see how he is [Friday]. He's made a lot of progress this week. I think there's a good chance he'll play."
Wilcox started all 30 games leading up to Thursday night and has only given up 11 goals over his last six starts.
If Lehr happens to make another start, confidence should be an issue. He shut down the Spartans for the final 50 minutes on Thursday night and was recognized on SportsCenter for his effort. Anchor John Buccigross named Lehr his SportsCenter star of the night for the 21-save effort and first career win in his first career start.
Thursday's box score.
